National History Day in Colorado

For examples of student exhibits that have competed in previous contests, click on the links below

Exhibits

Exhibits are displays of visual and written information. They are similar to exhibits found in a museum. People walking by should be attracted to an exhibit's main idea and, therefore, stop to learn more about the topic. To be successful, an exhibit must create an effective balance between visual interest and historical explanation.

The most common form of exhibit entry is a three-panel display. This style is the least complicated to design and build but is still a very effective way to present information.

At competitions, students set up their exhibits, but are not present while the judging team evaluates the entry. The judging team calls in the students who created each exhibit for interviews; the schedule for interviews at the state competition will be printed in the contest program. The exhibit should be constructed so it stands alone without verbal explanation. There will be time during the competition day for friends, family and visitors to view the exhibits.

Word and Size Limit

There is a 500-word limit for student-composed written materials on an exhibit. In addition, there are size limits depending on whether the exhibit is free-standing or sits on a table top. Please check the rule book for size limitations.

Process Paper

Students are required to prepare a process paper for all exhibit entries.

Rules for Exhibits

Exhibits must include a brief credit on the exhibit itself for all visual sources(e.g. photographs, paintings, charts, graphs, etc.). They also must fully cite these sources in their annotated bibliography.

Students must document the word count for projects in all categories. Exhibits must include the number of student-composed words in the exhibit itself and the number of words in the process paper included on the title page.

All the Details

Read the student contest rule book carefully and follow its guidelines. Also visit Creating Exhibit Entries on the National History Day web site for more information.

Custom NHD Exhibit Boards

Order exhibit boards made especially for NHD from Minnesota History Day.

Unlike the typical science fair boards that can be purchased at office supply stores, these exhibit boards have proportional panels and more height. This creates a more balanced display of images, sources and text.

See the attached order form for pricing and more details.

Boards are sold in packs of 10

Boards usually ship in 5 business days.

Shipping will be calculated according to the order

A handling fee of $10 will be placed for orders placed between July 1- October 31